The Gift of Memory
by Scribbles-by-Kate
Summary: Henry is having trouble adjusting with two sets of memories in his head after his father's death. He goes to Rumplestiltskin's shop for some magical help and has a little heart-to-heart with his grandfather. Potential spoilers.


_Once Upon a Time_ belongs to Adam, Eddy, and ABC. I will return the characters when I'm done playing.

**The Gift of Memory**

Henry couldn't sleep. He'd been tossing and turning for hours, but sleep just wouldn't come. The last few days had been crazy. One moment, he was Henry Swan, son of Emma Swan, he'd never known his father, and he'd lived with his mother in New York since the fire that burnt down their apartment building in Boston, and the next moment he was Henry Mills, adopted son of Regina Mills, who'd once been known as the Evil Queen, and the grandson of Snow White and Prince Charming and Rumplestiltskin, his biological mother was the Saviour, and his father, whom he'd loved despite only knowing him a few weeks, was dead. He was finding it hard to sort out the two lives in his head: he'd wake in the mornings and for a second he'd be Henry Swan, and then he'd remember, and it was hard.

He'd liked being Henry Swan. Henry Swan had had friends in New York, and there had been the best pizza on the planet, and he'd had his mom all to himself. Well, there was Walsh, but he'd always known that he would come first. It had been nice, perfect even, but it wasn't real, and that was what was so hard to deal with.

It wasn't that he wasn't happy to have his true memories back: he was, but he'd been happy in the false memories, and now…

He rolled over, shaking as he began to cry, and buried his face in his pillow, not wanting anyone to hear. He'd heard his grandparents up a little while ago, trying to soothe the baby, and his mom was exhausted after the last few weeks and needed all the sleep she could get, especially now that there seemed to be a new crisis for her to deal with if what he'd heard about the stranger in town was true.

Obviously he wasn't getting any sleep tonight, and he didn't just want to lie here all night. He needed to get out of here for a while, clear his head, and maybe try and come up with a solution to the confusion in his mind.

He began to dress and suddenly an idea came. Maybe what he needed was to make things simpler: if he could get rid of the false memories, maybe it would be easier to fit back in in Storybrooke and start to accept his dad's death. The memories had been created by magic, so he figured magic could remove them.

He had a pretty good idea that neither of his mothers would agree to perform such magic, but he knew a place he could go: Mr Gold's shop. His grandfather and Belle were on their honeymoon, he knew, but maybe he could find something to do the job himself. Decision made, he finished dressing quickly and stole out of the apartment.

0

Rumplestiltskin raised his wife's hand to his lips and kissed it for the umpteenth time as he drove them towards home. Belle smiled tenderly, but then she frowned, looking past him through the window.

'There's a light on at the shop, Rumple,' she said, concerned.

'What?' he asked, and turned his head to look. They were passing the shop now and there was, indeed, a light on. He pulled the car over. 'Better check it out.' She nodded.

He got out of the car and came around to help Belle, knowing there was no point in suggesting she stay put while he checked it out, and he wanted her close anyway.

Belle smiled and held his hand, and he let them both into the shop, using a spell to silence the bell so they wouldn't be heard.

'They're in the back,' he murmured, and Belle nodded, following him on tip toe, which was no mean feat in her towering heels.

Rumplestiltskin stealthily approached the back room, carefully pulling the curtain back and looking into the room.

'Henry?' he called, indignation that someone would break into his property being quickly replaced by surprise.

The boy whirled around, immediately looking guilty, and Rumplestiltskin had to swallow hard: he'd seen that look on Bae's face so many times…

'Mr Gold, I…I'm sorry, I…'

Rumplestiltskin moved into the room, but he didn't speak because he didn't know what to say. Henry looked so much like Bae… The likeness made his heart hurt.

Belle squeezed his hand, sensing his turmoil, and he squeezed back, silently asking her for help.

She smiled softly at his grandson. 'Hey, Henry,' she greeted.

Henry looked at her, suddenly looking less anxious. Belle had a way with children: she had a way with everyone. 'Hey,' he murmured: 'hey Belle… or… should I call you Mrs Gold now?'

Belle smiled again and shook her head. 'Belle's fine. You must find your family tree quite confusing at times,' she mused.

The boy smiled. 'It's pretty interesting, at least. And now I get to add you to it.'

'Well, I'm happy to be part of such an interesting family,' she said, 'and, to me, family means being able to talk to each other about anything, so, we're here if you ever need us, Henry: Rumple and I.'

'That's right,' Rumplestiltskin agreed, grateful that Belle had found words where he couldn't.

Henry looked at his grandfather, nervous again. 'I'm sorry: I know I shouldn't have broken in.'

Rumplestiltskin shook his head. 'It's alright, Henry.'

'It is?' Henry asked, completely shocked: he had expected a much different reaction.

'You're always welcome here, Henry, but I am wondering what brought you here so late.'

'I was looking for something.'

'Some magic?' Rumplestiltskin guessed.

Henry nodded.

'Well, why don't you try to explain to me what it is you want and I'll see what I can do?' Rumplestiltskin suggested.

'Ok,' Henry said, and sat down on the makeshift bed as Rumplestiltskin indicated.

Rumplestiltskin sat beside him and Belle moved away a little, busying herself with reorganising some books to give them some privacy.

'When my mom undid the curse, she gave Emma and me new memories,' Henry began. 'I forgot everything about Storybrooke and fairy tales and who I really was.'

'I see,' Rumplestiltskin said.

'Yeah, so, when Regina kissed me and made everyone remember, my real memories came back too, and now I have two lives in my head and it's confusing. When I wake up in the morning, at first I think I'm Henry Swan, but then I remember… I remember…' He sniffled a bit. 'I'm sorry.'

'No,' Rumplestiltskin said, his voice thick with emotion: 'there's nothing to apologise for, Henry. You just take your time.' He blinked back tears at the signs of Henry's grief. This was all his fault. He knew why Henry had come to the shop, but what he wasn't sure of was what he was going to do about it.

'I remember being happy in New York, but then I remember that that wasn't real, so I figure if I didn't have those memories, it would be easier to accept that my dad's…my dad's… gone.' He took a shuddering breath.

Rumplestiltskin let out a shuddering sigh. 'I'm so sorry, Henry,' he breathed. Knowing that Henry had lost his father as much as he'd lost his son made it all hurt so much more. 'He should be here: it's my fault he's not. I'm sorry.'

Instinctively, Henry reached for his grandfather and they both sat, holding each other and crying quietly, for a long moment.

'Mom told me that he asked her to separate you, so you could tell her about Zelena,' Henry said: 'she said you tried to save him. It's not your fault,' he said, but Rumplestiltskin shook his head.

'The only reason he's not here is because he sacrificed his life for mine: he traded a life for a life and if I could've stopped him, I would've. I'm so sorry.'

'But you couldn't have stopped him,' Henry said: 'you didn't know until it was too late, and Mom said you tried to save him,' he said again.

'I did,' Rumplestiltskin said, and he remembered Bae asking him not to, asking him to let it go. He had, but he'd made sure his son was avenged.

'But still,' he said, 'I'm sorry.'

'I'm sorry too,' Henry said, looking up at him. 'I know you created the curse and brought magic here so you could find him. You must have loved him very much to do all that and wait all that time to find him again.'

Rumplestiltskin couldn't hold back the choking sob that came. Henry was so like his Bae, and in the midst of the grief, there was that knowledge that he still had a little piece of his boy left to comfort him.

'You have his noble heart,' he said hoarsely, 'and his bravery: you're just like him, Henry,' he said, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Henry looked up at him. 'You really think so?' he asked hopefully.

Rumplestiltskin cupped his grandson's cheek and smiled. 'Yeah: you're your father's son.' And they hugged.

'Thanks, Grandpa,' Henry whispered. It helped him to know that, that there were things about him that were the same as his father. His father had been a hero, and maybe Henry could be as well.

Rumplestiltskin held him tighter.

'So, you were looking for some magic to erase the memories Regina gave you,' he said, as they pulled away.

Henry nodded. 'Can you do that?' he asked hopefully.

'The question is not whether or not I can: it's whether or not I should.'

'What do you mean?' Henry asked.

'Tell me why Regina gave you those memories.'

'Because she was undoing the curse,' Henry said.

'Was that the only reason?'

Henry thought a bit. 'Emma said they were a gift: happy memories of her raising me. I-I guess Regina was trying to make amends for some of the things she did.'

'Exactly,' Rumplestiltskin said, 'and I don't know if it would be right for me to take away something that was intended as a gift.'

Henry looked down. 'But they're more like a curse now,' he said, 'because the happy memories aren't real, and they just make everything hurt more.'

'They weren't all real, no,' Rumplestiltskin agreed, 'but that year in New York was, and Regina didn't know that she would see you again. If she hadn't, most of your memories of your life would have been real. Regina and I have had our differences, but what she did was one of the most unselfish things I've ever known anyone to do. Regina gave you a special gift, a chance at a happy future. Just because it didn't work out the way she intended doesn't mean it's not worth anything.'

Henry was silent for a minute or two. 'I-I guess I didn't think about it like that,' he said eventually. 'The memories hurt me, but she didn't mean for that to happen, and she might be hurt if I erased them.'

'I think so, yes.'

'So, I guess I gotta keep the memories and try to work through the pain.'

'I think that's the best way.'

'But how do we get through the pain?'

'I don't have the answer to that, I'm afraid,' Rumplestiltskin murmured, 'but maybe we can find a way together.'

Henry nodded. 'Ok.' It would be good not to have to try to do this alone, and it would be good to keep the false memories after all, because his grandfather was right: they weren't all false. He was glad he'd come here, and maybe now he could get to know his grandfather better, and maybe he could tell him more about his father.

'Can you tell me about my dad when he was my age?' he asked hopefully.

Rumplestiltskin smiled and nodded, accepting the invitation to remember his beloved boy and help his grandson know him better. And maybe, through this, he and Henry could get to know each other better too.

And so, grandfather and grandson sat for hours talking about the man they knew as son and father respectively.

0

Belle came back into the shop with pastries, and a cup of tea for her, coffee for Rumple, and cocoa for Henry. She smiled as she saw Henry curled up on the cot, still sleeping: he'd drifted off a few hours ago and Rumple had kept vigil over him, though he was exhausted himself.

'Thank you, sweetheart,' Rumple said, taking the coffee gratefully. He looked at his watch. 'I should call Emma and let her know he's alright.'

Belle nodded and smiled. 'I'm happy that you had this time with him,' she said: 'I think you both needed it.'

'Yeah,' he agreed.

'And I'm so proud of how you dealt with his difficulties with his memories,' she said softly, smiling.

He nodded. 'Regina was trying to do the right thing: it's not for me to take that away from her.'

Belle nodded in agreement and they smiled at each other.

Henry began to stir, rolling over and sitting up on the cot.

'Hey,' he murmured sleepily.

'Good morning, Henry,' Rumplestiltskin greeted. 'Are you hungry?'

'Yeah,' Henry said, and he could smell the coffee and warm pastries, and cinnamon.

'I brought you a hot cocoa with cinnamon,' Belle said, 'and there are pastries too.'

He smiled. 'Thanks, Belle.' And he took the drink from her hand and chose a pastry for himself. 'What time is it?'

'Just after seven,' his grandfather said: 'I'll call your mum in a minute and let her know where you are.'

Henry nodded. 'Thanks for…everything.'

Rumplestiltskin nodded. 'You're more than welcome.' He put his hand on his grandson's shoulder.

'Gold!' a voice called.

They all recognised Emma's voice: she'd obviously missed Henry already.

Belle went to greet her and saw Regina with her.

'Belle, we need to talk to Gold,' Emma said urgently: 'Henry's missing.'

'Henry's here.' Belle said, beckoning to both women.

They hurried after her and found Henry sitting on the cot, a take away cup and a pastry in his hands.

'Thank the gods!' Regina cried.

'Henry, where have you been?' Emma demanded.

Faced with both anxious mothers at once, Henry looked shamefaced. 'I'm sorry,' he stammered.

'Do you have any idea how worried we were?' Regina asked.

'I'm sorry,' he said again.

'What's going on here?' Emma asked Rumplestiltskin.

'Belle and I were passing last night and saw a light on. When we came to check it out, we found Henry here.'

'What were you looking for, Henry?' Regina asked.

'He just wanted to know about his father,' Rumplestiltskin said, not intending to ever tell Regina what Henry had really been looking for. He and Regina had hurt each other enough: it was time to stop now.

'Oh, Henry,' Emma said, blinking.

'I didn't mean to scare you guys,' Henry said: 'I'm sorry.'

'Thank goodness you're alright,' Regina said, 'but don't ever do that again.'

'I won't,' Henry said: 'I promise.' And he and Regina hugged.

'Thanks,' Emma said to Rumplestiltskin and Belle.

'You're welcome,' Rumplestiltskin replied.

Emma took her turn to hug Henry.

'Thank you,' Regina said, looking from Rumplestiltskin to Belle.

Rumplestiltskin nodded. 'I was wondering, if it's alright with both of you, and Henry, of course, I'd like us to spend some time together. You could come and work at the shop a little, if you'd like.'

'I'd like that,' Henry said. He looked at Emma. 'I can, can't I?'

Emma smiled and nodded. 'I think so, kid: Regina?'

'If that's what you want, Henry,' Regina said.

He nodded. 'It is.' He looked at Rumplestiltskin. 'I wanna know my grandpa.'

Rumplestiltskin clapped the boy on the cheek gently and smiled. 'And I'd very much like to know my grandson.'

They looked at each other for a moment and then hugged.

Belle smiled at them and saw that even Emma and Regina were touched by the sight of grandfather and grandson embracing. Neal was gone and nothing would change that, but he would surely approve of his father and son getting to know each other better.

**Thanks for reading :)**


End file.
